Arya’s POV

The night was supposed to be a celebration, as my daughter had just aced the pack’s final rigorous combat training, and her father took her out to celebrate.

But now, the peace of that evening shattered as my phone buzzed, pulling me from my reverie. The tone in Charlotte’s voice was not one of the victory I expected but of confusion.

“Mom, Dad got a call from some woman on our way back,” she mentioned.

‘It must be that bitch again,’ Alina, my wolf, snarled disdainfully, to which I agreed.

But a cold dread gripped us at Charlotte’s next words.

“And he just dropped me off here, outside our pack territory. Mom, who could be so important that he left me here alone?” she wondered, unaware of the danger she was in.

The area outside our pack’s borders was no place for anyone, let alone a young werewolf. Rogues—feral wolves without a pack—were known to lurk there, waiting for an opportunity to attack the unwary, especially those who were vulnerable and alone.

“Charlotte, listen to me. You need to get out of there now! Run back to the border. Transform if you have to—” I urged, trying to keep the panic from my voice.

But before I could finish, a gunshot cracked through the phone, piercing my soul. The line went dead, followed by a hollow thud. My heart lurched, and a scream tore from my lips.

“Charlotte!” I shrieked, but the silence on the other end was chilling.

At the pack infirmary, one of the pack healers told me the news I dreaded most—Charlotte was in critical condition. Only the head healer, my mate, Godrick Raven, could treat her. The healer’s words blurred in my mind as I frantically contacted Godrick through the mind link. However, I couldn’t reach him, so I dialed his phone number instead.

After what felt like an eternity, he finally answered.

“Godrick, get to the infirmary now! Something happened to Charlotte!” I exclaimed, my voice breaking with desperation.

But instead of the concern I expected, his voice dripped with cold disdain. “Arya, I’m already tired of your lies. Stop making up stories to get my attention.”

‘Why can’t he even trust us, even just this one?’ Alina irritatingly grumbled.

Before I could voice out our protest, a woman’s voice cut through the line. “Godrick, come here quickly,” she cooed. It was Deserie Hansley, his first love.

And with that, the call ended.

Alina and I burst into a rage upon hearing that woman’s voice.

Deserie came from a well-off family, which was probably one of the reasons why my mate loved her and couldn’t let go of her. They were a perfect match—one from a royal family and one from a wealthy family.

I dialed Godrick’s number again, only to hear the dead tone of his phone. At this time, Charlotte’s condition was drastically worsening.

Half an hour later, the pack healer finally emerged from a room in the infirmary, his face a mask of grim determination.

I could barely keep myself upright as I stumbled forward, my voice cracking with desperation. “How’s my daughter?”

His eyes softened, but his words were like a punch to the gut. “We need the pack head healer to treat your daughter; otherwise, she won’t make it.”

My breath hitched. “Is Godrick really the only one who can do it?” I asked again, silently hoping there was someone else who could operate in his stead.

Sadly, the healer crushed that hope of mine. “Yes, Arya,” he nodded, her voice unwavering. “Your daughter is now in critical condition, and your mate is the only healer in our pack with a record of success in cases like this.”

“Can’t we move her to neighboring packs? There has to be someone else!” I desperately suggested, knowing my mate was now on vacation and had his phone turned off.

As panic clawed at my chest, the healer’s eyes held a sorrowful certainty.

“I’m afraid that’s not a choice, Arya. She won’t survive the transfer. Her father is her only chance. You must get to him now.”

Godrick had vanished with Deserie with his phone turned off while our daughter lay dying. I no longer know what to feel at this point.

Arya’s POV

As desperation engulfed me, I scoured my mind for any way to reach Godrick and suddenly remembered seeing Deserie’s Instagram account. I found it and saw she’d just posted a video—she was at the River Ash Pack infirmary, with Godrick by her side.

My blood boiled and Alina growled in fury at the sight, but I didn’t have time for anger. I transformed into my wolf form and rushed like a mad she-wolf to the River Ash Pack, my mind racing against time. After three excruciating hours, I arrived. The guards blocked me at first, but after hearing my reason, they finally let me in.

When I finally found them, they were sitting on a bench, Deserie leaning comfortably on Godrick’s shoulder.

‘I knew it! This bitch is really something,’ Alina sharply spat.

“Godrick, my daughter will be okay, right?” she worriedly asked, her voice sounding so sweet.

“Don’t worry, it’s just a burn. I know she can make it through,” he reassured confidently.

‘Look at those two, too engrossed in each other to even catch a whiff of our scent and realize that we’re here. Tch!’ Alina grumbled disdainfully.

“Godrick!” I roared, my voice laced with fury and desperation.

They jumped, startled by my presence. Deserie straightened up, feigning innocence.

“Arya, what are you doing here? And how did you get in here?” Godrick coldly asked with a hint of surprise in his tone and his eyes narrowing.

I didn’t have much time to waste, so I reached out to him. “That doesn’t matter. Charlotte’s been shot! She’s dying, Godrick. Only you can save her.”

Unexpectedly, he shook off my hand, his expression hardening. “Arya, aren’t you done yet with this kind of bullshit? You keep following me wherever I go, thinking Deserie and I are doing something wrong. Just so you know, I’m here to treat her daughter.”

“And how about our daughter? Godrick, please,” I sobbed, my voice cracking. “Our daughter needs you. She’s been shot with a wolfsbane-laced bullet. She won’t survive without you.”

Just then, Deserie interjected pitifully, “I understand that you’re jealous, Arya, but my daughter needs Godrick too.”

I no longer know what to say to convince him and my tears were continuously trickling down my cheeks. I pitifully looked at my mate. “Godrick, you’re not choosing to save someone else’s daughter over your own, right?”

However, he glared at me, his voice dripping with contempt. “Arya, Deserie’s daughter had severe burns, that’s why I’m here. Stop following me and saying terrible things about our daughter. You’re becoming more despicable and vicious day by day.”

“Please, Godrick, if you don’t believe me, just come and see Charlotte,” I pleaded, almost kneeling.

Once again, Deserie interrupted. “Arya, I know you can’t stand seeing us together, but my daughter needs him. Please put aside your jealousy even just for now.”

‘Even just for now? She always steals the time he should be spending with us!’ Alina groused.

Having had enough of her, I snapped. My hand flew before I could think, slapping Deserie across the face. “Shut up!”

“Arya, how dare you hit Deserie!” Godrick fumingly exclaimed, his eyes turning red with fury.

He then raised his hand to strike me back, but Deserie stopped him, her voice calm and manipulative. “Godrick, just ignore her. You need to be in the infirmary anytime now.”

Godrick took a deep breath with closed eyes and nodded.

“Right, I’ll go there now,” he said coldly, starting to walk off.

“No!” I cried, rushing after him, but Deserie held me back.

“Let me go!” I growled at Deserie but my tired body couldn’t get to push her aside.

“Godrick, please! Come back with me! Charlotte needs you!” I screamed, but he didn’t even look back.

As he disappeared from sight, my legs gave way. I collapsed, grief-stricken, my world falling apart. My daughter was dying, and the one man who could save her had chosen someone else. Darkness closed in, and the last thing I remembered was the taste of my own tears as I fainted, consumed by despair.

Arya’s POV

When I woke up, an unfamiliar scent filled my nostrils. Seeing the dim lighting and pure white paint in my surroundings, I realized I was in an infirmary. Despite my aching limbs, I forced myself to sit up and walk toward the door. As I stepped out of my room, I spotted Godrick in the room across from mine.

“Mr. Raven, thank you for treating me,” came the soft voice of Johanna, Deserie’s daughter, lying on the bed with fragile innocence.

“Johanna, from now on, call Mr. Raven ‘Uncle,’“ Deserie cooed, her voice sickly sweet, a smile plastered on her face.

“Okay. Thank you again, Uncle,” Johanna replied, her voice dripping with gratitude.

Godrick leaned down, brushing Johanna’s forehead with a tenderness that twisted the knife deeper into my chest. “Alright, be good. Take good care of yourself.”

The sight of him doting on another’s child while our own lay fighting for her life filled me with a bitter envy that made my blood boil. I clenched my fists, nails biting into my palms.

‘Saving other’s child first. Is he really our mate? He didn’t catch a whiff of our scent again. I wonder if his nose is still fine,’ I seethed inwardly.

‘Indeed. How I wish he wasn’t our mate,’ Alina, my wolf, echoed flatly, her voice laced with disappointment.

I couldn’t stand it anymore. I needed him to come back to our daughter. Stepping into the room, I let the tension between us thicken.

“Her daughter’s treatment is done. Can you go back with me now?” My voice was strained, barely masking the desperation behind it.

But Deserie wasn’t done. She latched onto Godrick’s arm, her eyes wide with false concern. “Godrick, please stay for a few more days. If my daughter has any complications, I’ll feel at ease knowing you’re here.”

Just then, a nurse nearby heard her and interjected, “Don’t worry, there won’t be any complications.”

Then, in a low voice, she added, “After all, it’s just a severe burn. Even our own pack healers could have handled it. I don’t even get why you insist on bringing in a healer from another pack.”

Both Alina and I agreed with the nurse, igniting our anger once more.

“Godrick, you’ve done enough here. Why are you still waiting? Are you planning to wait until our daughter dies before you regret it?” My voice quivered with rage, a barely contained snarl.

Deserie, ever the thorn in my side, spat back with venom, “You’re really something, Arya. I’ve never seen a mother like you. You dare say your daughter is dying out of petty jealousy?”

I wanted to rip her throat out, to see her blood spill for those words, but Godrick’s cold voice cut through the tension. “This is an infirmary. Keep your voice down. Go back first; I’ll return in a few days.”

Just then, my daughter’s attending healer called.

“Ms. Elsher, please come to the infirmary to see your daughter one last time.”

Panic clawed at my insides. I put the call on speaker, letting Godrick hear the gravity of the situation, hoping against hope that it would snap him out of this stupor. But Deserie was quick to twist the knife deeper.

“Wow, she even hires actors now,” she sneered.

And like a puppet on a string, Godrick turned on me, his fangs bared. “Enough with the theatrics, Arya. Get out. I don’t want to see you.”

His words hit like a physical blow, knocking the breath out of me. My claws extended, digging into my palms as I fought back tears.

‘Arya, forget them. Charlotte needs you now,’ Alina urged, her voice a lifeline in the storm.

‘You’re right,’ I agreed and nodded.

“Fine. If our daughter dies, remember this moment. You’ll have only yourself to blame.”

As such, I rushed out of the infirmary and ran back to our pack, directly going to where my daughter was.

However, when I arrived, it was too late. My daughter was now in the morgue, lying on a slab, her body cold, her life snuffed out too soon.

Alina howled in agony as I cradled Charlotte’s lifeless form, my tears falling freely. It felt like my soul was being ripped apart, piece by piece.

Godrick hadn’t been back, so I was forced to take care of our daughter’s funeral alone. It was a blur, a nightmare from which I couldn’t wake.

Holding her urn, the reality of her loss crushed me. Charlotte was a star in their pack’s final combat training, her future so bright. She was meant to be a warrior, a beacon of hope for our pack. But now, she was gone, her light extinguished.

I locked myself in her room, her scent lingering in the air. I touched her belongings, each one a painful reminder of what I’d lost.

Third Person POV

While Arya drowned in sorrow, far away, another woman reveled in her victory.

“You did a great job. I’ll send your payment soon. Until our next transaction,” the woman said, her smile twisting into a cruel grin.

Turning to the child beside her, she whispered with sick delight, “Now that their daughter is dead, there’s nothing binding them. He’ll reject her, cast her aside like trash. And then, I’ll take my rightful place as his chosen mate. We’ll be a happy family.”

Her laughter rang out, sharp and sinister, echoing through the room like a death knell.